Starbucks Charleston mug: Discovery Series
The Charleston mug from Starbucks' Discovery Series sets the city name in pale blue-green over a dark green circle, with a paddleboarder, a heron, a sailboat, pastel row houses and a horse-drawn carriage on one side, and a dolphin, a pineapple and a promenade on the other.
- Series
- Discovery Series
- Place
- Charleston, South Carolina, USA
- Type
- Mug
- Released
- Not confirmed
- Capacity
- 14 fl ozstandard mug size
- SKU
- Not confirmed
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The paint job meant to rescue Charleston's East Bay Street
In 1920 the Joseph Manigault House faced demolition, and the real estate developer Susan Pringle Frost and her cousin Nell Pringle founded a society to save it [1]. It grew into the Preservation Society of Charleston, the oldest community-based historic preservation organization in the United States [2]. Frost then did what she knew best: she bought old houses, renovated them and put them back on the market [3]. One block of East Bay Street was in bad shape: its old merchants' buildings had gone neglected after the docks silted and trade moved elsewhere [4]. In 1931 the decorator Dorothy Haskell Porcher Legge bought a house at 99-101 East Bay and painted it in bright colors [5]. According to the South Carolina Encyclopedia, her nonhistorical, attention-grabbing scheme was meant to encourage the rehabilitation of the buildings around it [6]. As the buildings were restored through the 1950s, the block became known as Rainbow Row [7]. The orange, teal and blue row houses across the top of the Charleston mug (4) may be it.
The mug does not label its drawings, so connecting this one to the story is our reading.
What's on the mug
- 1Lettering
CHARLESTON in pale blue-green capitals over a dark green circle.
- 2Paddleboarder
A woman in a blue patterned swimsuit and sunglasses stands on a paddleboard with a long paddle.
- 3Heron
A blue heron with a long beak stands beside the paddleboard.
- 4Row houses
A row of tall narrow houses in orange, teal and blue runs across the top of the circle.
- 5Sailboat
A sailboat with an orange sail and blue-striped hull sits at the lower left.
- 6Horse-drawn carriage
A blue carriage with passengers is pulled by a horse along the lower right.
- 7Horse
A dark blue horse walks under the lettering.
- 8Dolphin Side view
A large blue dolphin arcs across the upper right of this face, with an orange tail fin.
- 9Pineapple Side view
A pineapple stands at the upper left of this face, beside a guitar neck at the edge.
- 10Woven baskets Side view
Two round woven baskets with a handle hang beside the pineapple.
- 11Promenade with couple Side view
A couple holds hands on a striped blue and orange walkway lined with posts.
- 12Columned building Back view
A teal building with tall windows, columns and an orange pediment sits behind two palm trees.
- 13Saxophone Back view
A blue saxophone with orange confetti sits at the left of the building.
- 14Guitar Back view
An orange guitar stands upright at the right of the building.
- 15Teacup Back view
A blue teacup with orange tea and a tea bag on a saucer steams under teal ghost-like wisps.
- 16Live oak Back view
A large spreading tree with pale branches stands at the right.
The three photos together cover most of the outside of the mug. The inside is dark teal in the front photo; the strip behind the handle is not fully visible.
Collector notes
- The Charleston front is built around a dark green circle with the lettering across it; the dolphin, pineapple and baskets are on a different face, so a one-sided seller photo can look like a different design.
- The back face has a teacup with a tea bag, a saxophone, a guitar and a columned building under palm trees, so check the listing shows that side if you want to confirm the design.
Before you buy
Charleston appears only in the Discovery Series in our records. The dolphin, pineapple, tea and music drawings are on other faces of the mug, so check that a listing shows all sides. The inside is dark teal in our front photo.
About the Discovery Series
Sources
- Historic Preservation (South Carolina Encyclopedia)
- Preservation Society of Charleston (South Carolina Encyclopedia)
- Historic Preservation (South Carolina Encyclopedia), on Frost buying and restoring houses
- Rainbow Row (South Carolina Encyclopedia), on the neglected East Bay buildings
- Rainbow Row (South Carolina Encyclopedia), on Legge's 1931 purchase
- Rainbow Row (South Carolina Encyclopedia), on the paint scheme
- Rainbow Row (South Carolina Encyclopedia), on the name
